1. Field
The present invention is directed to a typing error correction method and a device implementing the same method. The method according to embodiments of the present invention can be applied to a keyboard input of personal computers as well as to a touch keypad input of smart phones and keypad input of all mobile devices (including feature phones).
2. Description of the Related Art
Typical typing error (e.g., typographical error) correction method when inputting characters (all types of inputtable characters including English characters, Korean characters, numbers, special characters, etc.) in personal computers or in mobile devices is to delete not only the word including a typing error but also all words between the word including the typing error and the current cursor location using deletion function key like backspace, and to retype the whole deleted words, or to move a cursor to the location where the typing error occurred using a mouse (in case of personal computers) or using a finger touch (in case of mobile devices) to correct the typing error.
When moving a cursor to the location where a typing error occurred by using a mouse or finger touch, a user should pay attention to indicating the exact location of the cursor. In case of mobile devices having a small display, additional features such as a magnifying glass function may be used to help user's cursor location indication. After moving the cursor to the accurate location right after the characters including the typing error, the user deletes the characters including the typing error by inputting (e.g., pressing) a delete function key. After such deletion, the user types correct characters. When changing a whole word to another word, the user should move the cursor to the location right after the word to be revised in the above manner, delete the whole characters in the word, and then type another word.
An auto-correction function was developed in an effort to reduce inconvenience caused by the above conventional typing error correction method. This function has been already commercialized, and works to automatically correct the word “A,” which a user actually typed, to another word “B,” when the machine decides that the word “A” contains a typing error and should be corrected to the word “B.” Thus, it may help to reduce a user's effort to input a deletion function key and to type correct words again. Automatically corrected word “B” exists in a library of the machine, and is not required to be retyped by a user.
However, in the above auto-correction function, it is apparent that the automatically corrected word is not input by a user with the intention of correction, but is what the machine presumes that the user actually intended to input. Thus, problems may arise when the accuracy of presumption is not good enough. The problematic accuracy of presumption is partly because of the limited number of words registered in a library of the machine. Further, it is partly due to an inaccuracy occurring when the machine selects one correction candidate from among a plurality of correction candidates. These days, many users frequently use newly coined words or new abbreviations, which are not covered by the old library, in typing environment of personal computers and mobile devices. Thus, if the library is not frequently updated, the limitation of the library becomes more and more remarkable. For this reason, many users turn the auto-correction function off when they input characters, even though their devices (e.g., personal computers or mobile devices) are provided with the auto-correction function. For inputting non-English languages, users tend to more frequently turn the auto-correction function off. In particular, in case of Korean language, users do not generally care about spacing between words when they type particularly in mobile devices. Under such circumstances where words are not typed to be appropriately spaced from each other, it is very difficult for the machine to recognize actual typing errors and suitable replacement of typing errors. This is the reason why most users turn the auto-correction function off when inputting Korean language characters.